Centerstone Investors LLC Cuts Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Centerstone Investors LLC trimmed its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 10.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,299 shares during the quarter. Scotts Miracle-Gro comprises about 1.5% of Centerstone Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Centerstone Investors LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,448,000 after acquiring an additional 14,730 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 61.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,101 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 10,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at about $3,435,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $856,127.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,891,428.47. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,390,090.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. This trade represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:SMG traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $73.78. 41,311 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 807,744. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.59 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.61. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $53.43 and a 52 week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -382.61%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.